What to Expect From a Professional Putting Green Installation Near Me

When people search for putting green installation near me, it is important to distinguish a professional and experienced putting green installer from an inexperienced team. We created an easy checklist to reference. Rely on this list to qualify local putting green installers and supervise your projects, as this is our basic checklist for our projects as well.

Inspect Soil

First, inspect the soil to determine how to prepare the base. Some projects require additional excavation and compaction or weed prevention. When neglected, the entire site becomes hilly or attacked by aggressive weeds, ruining the job in just a few years. While it is impossible to foresee all weed growth, it is important to watch out for gophers and bamboo growth.

Design the Area

Build a putting green surface that matches the skill and design perception of the player. We often see putting greens where the ball is placed on the surface and rolls by itself due to incomplete grading. Also, not spending the time with the client to meet their specific needs can result in the area being just flat and boring, or the surface being too challenging to play. Sand bunkers, ponds, and other obstacles can be installed to customize gameplay. Stimp speed can also be adjusted to customize gameplay. 

Draft Contours

This sounds silly, but contours are critical to the golfing experience. When discussing contours, imagine yourself playing. Walk the field and see if it is the game experience that you are looking for. 

Timely Approval

A shared installation schedule is key to help both sides agree on the timely approval of the different stages. Discuss the shape of the surface and approve contours without stopping the project. To begin your project with InstallArtificial, request an estimate below!

Base Preparation

We use three layers for base preparation: road base, decomposed granite, and sand.

• Road Base: A solid fundament of 2-4" is compacted every two inches in a landscaping manner, in both directions. 
• Decomposed Granite: A thin layer of decomposed granite is then applied to the area, up to ¼” deep. This seals the top of the road base and fine-tunes grading. 
• Wash Sand: A thin 1/8” layer of wash sand eliminates inconsistencies and fine-tunes the top of the surface. This will reduce the resistance between a ball and putting green surfaces making the game more fun. Be cautious, wash sand can wash away! Do not apply more than 1/4” to the surface.

Grading

Grading with an eye may seem like it looks good, but there are a few tools and approaches that make grading much, much better. Make sure your installers are utilizing professional tools when grading the area. An expert putting green installation crew will be able to provide a smooth contoured surface, whereas a cheap crew may sloppily compact and grade. This will affect how the golf ball rolls.

Laser Level

Determine the key levels when working with elevation or rely on fundamental objects such as the flood level of a house, concrete, and tops of the fence. A laser is mostly used on commercial or vast projects where angles are critical.

Installation Of Cups

Holes and plastic cups for putting greens are installed in concrete for durability, cleaning, and drainage.

Ropes

Ropes are used to measure flat surfaces and transitions. 

Compact in Circles

Compact the area in round movements in both directions. Overlap the compacted path by at least 30%.

Stretching the Turf

Wrinkles are the most common defect in artificial putting greens. They’re so common that you can even see wrinkles on highlighted projects for some companies. To prevent wrinkles, we do the following:

• Use professional tools to stretch. Professional carpet stretchers and kickers help to achieve max precision and apply the necessary pressure.
• Stretch in at least eight directions. Stretching in four directions is not enough. Corners need to be stretched as well as the sides.
• Secure the sides. Secure the putting green with nails around the entire perimeter. Use temporary nails to secure the putting green material while stretching.

Attain Hidden Nails And Seams

Nails should be firmly secured to the base, and not be visible. A seam may be visible even when cut to precision. When cutting and seaming putting green materials, installers push grass blades up on both sides of the seam. It is imperative to push grass blades back down to reduce the visibility of the seam.

• S-Shape Seams: Using an S-shape seam is a technique used to prevent visible seams. However, this requires laser precision when cutting. Even the slightest mistake becomes visible when seaming. An s-shape seam increases the chances of turning golf balls because it takes less force to change direction at a smaller angle. For this reason, we do not recommend s-shapes for putting greens. Instead, we use a zipper-shaped seam method to hide the seams. With this technique, we’re able to create an optical illusion and reduce seam visibility. 

And there you have it! Our guide to a successful installation. As always, contact us to get your project started today. The price of a putting green can become a large investment, get it done right the first time! You can count on us to install it right, at the right price to fit your budget.